Well my CD changer is finally giving out and I am looking to replace it with a 5-Disc SACD changer. From my research I have found a few that combine DVD playback with SACD, but haven't found many. Ideally I would like this equipment to playback SACD and DVD audio as well. My stereo receiver is old and eventually I plan to replace it with surround capability so I am not against the most recent technology. I am using the M80's v3 with a decent sub and have a couple of small floor standing celestions I'll be using for surround for now. I am looking to spend no more than $250 and so far it seems that a Sony DVP-NC875V/B is closely matched to my needs. I am willing to pay a bit more if necessary, but not much...I rarely if ever watch movies on DVD (at least for now). Recommendations please!

I have a Yamaha universal changer (DVD-C750). It's kind of annoying in its slowness, and I never found any SACD changer that would random play the tracks on SACDs. CDs, sure, but not SACDs or DVD-As. So be aware of that little hiccup.

Lee, good to hear from you again. As you've probably found in your research, there are very few units available that meet your requirements. CD/DVD changers are available, but SACD play narrows the choices and DVD-A makes them almost disappear. Many previously made have been discontinued and are available, if at all, only used.

I use mega-changers for music play, but if I wanted one similar to what you need, I'd probably consider the Onkyo DV CP802 which was reviewed here , and try "sammy" for the buy. This does include DVD-A play and goes the Sony one disc better.

Incidentally, I'm now studying the Nordic romantics beyond the Grieg, Nielsen and Sibelius I've been familiar with. Got a bunch of Atterberg, Langgaard, Pettersson and Rangstrom symphony discs from the various libraries I have access to. So far, Langgaard is an interesting discovery and a particular gem is the Pettersson 7th . If you're not familiar with these works it might be worthwhile to give them a listen.

You must have gotten the non-C-stock one... Mine doesn't open the drawer all the time, the remote's horrible (and I know that's a "feature" of all of them) and the random play is silly. It does actually have a more helpful UI than my Oppo 970, though.

The only issue I've had with the Yamaha is that it will "freeze"...I then just unplug and it resets itself. Probably not an uncommom phenom as with other units. My next player will be an Oppo or Marantz.

Thanks to all for your recommendations. Regarding Alan's comment...I still see several SACD formatted discs in the classical genre that have recently been released and continue to be, so I still think it viable for me. It was Alan's comments I read many months ago that convinced me to try surround for music in the first place (I have yet to purchase a surround receiver but it will come at some point in the future). My SACD collection is growing and I do have some DVD-A discs as well so I think I will investigate John's recommendations, and yes, I have only found used units on Amazon and ebay. Hi John, I am familiar to some degree Atterberg. The others you mention I know of but either I don't remember them or haven't heard them...yet. Actually I am getting into more of the American composers like Chadwick, Piston, Hansen, Harris and started to listen to the Ives symphonies and works. I've resisted many of the English/Irish composers in the past so Vaughn Williams, Walton, Bax, Elgar, Stanford and others I am now exploring, especially their symphonies and a few concerti. I'm a late comer to some of these composer's works, and I have played many pieces by Elgar, Walton, Vaughn Williams, Britten, Holst and others, but not the symphonies. I'm also on the search for 18th century works from lesser known (at least to me) composers and found a great reference in an older issue of Gramophone Magazine with a very comprehensive listing. Enjoy your search and discovery!

Hey FireGuy, just ran into this yesterday when I moved the thing and was trying to play a video for my kids. Glad I'm not alone. Wish I'd remembered that you'd had the same problem a little faster, though...

I certainly don't want to deter you in acquiring SACD or DVD-A recordings. I have a fair number, and some have very fine sound quality, not because of the so-called "hi-rez" technical specs but due to the extra care in recording and microphone placement. (In terms of human hearing, CD is already a hi-resolution recording format.) I also have some poor-sounding SACDs and DVD-A recordings.

I would urge you to get a surround-sound receiver. With careful setup, the improvement in realism of 2-channel CD playback throught Dolby Pro Logic II, dts Neo6 or Logic 7 is really thrilling and classical stereo recordings that contain some natural hall ambience "decode" wonderfully into surround.

It's great to discover other forum members who appreciate some of the wonderful yet less well-known English composers like Bax, Walton, and Vaughn-Williams. I was just listening to Walton's Belshazzar's Feast in surround; highly recommended if you have not yet heard it. Great dynamic swings in the chorus and orchestra and it decodes into surround extremely well. It's a thrilling musical experience.

As to disc changers, none are "speedy" in terms of disc-changing so I wouldn't let that hold you back.